Long Distance Baby Shower

My cousin Dallas' wife Lynda is expecting a cute little boy pretty much any moment, and I volunteered to put together a baby shower for her so we could get together with all of our family here in Utah.  Somehow I had completely forgotten the fact that she and Dallas moved to Texas several months ago... oops.  So we had to get creative, and we ended up having our baby shower via Facebook and Skype!  Here's the virtual invitation I created to go with the Facebook event invites:

Digi-kit: "Silly Boy -- Cuddlebug" by www.shabbyprincess.com

It actually worked out really well -- much better than I anticipated, in fact!  We all either had our presents shipped directly from her registry (or wherever) to her apartment and then she opened them while we watched, or brought presents to the party and opened them and showed them to her.  We just chatted away via Skype as though we were all in the same room and had a grand old time.

In preparing for the party, I wanted to make sure Lynda still felt properly baby-showered, so I thought we needed some decorations!  But because I'm not a fan of spending a lot of time on "disposable" decorations, I wanted to make sure they'd be able to use them after the shower to decorate the nursery, so I checked out her crib bedding for a theme and colors.  First I made this banner with the baby's name:

Cricut cartridges used:  Celebration (pennants), Zooballoo (animals and vines), Lyrical Letters (font), and George (circles)

... and added some fun lengths of circle streamers.  They are SO easy to make and look so darn cute.  Just punch (or cut with your Cricut or whatever) a bazillion of whatever shape you want to use, then run them through your sewing machine one after another.  I think these are going to be a staple of party decor for me in the future!

I also used my leftover tree bases from this project to create a cute centerpiece. 

Because these decorations were take-apart-able and foldable, I was able to fit them all into a priority mail box with our baby presents and get them to the new mommy-and-daddy-to-be in time for the party!

So don't let distance keep you from celebrating the people you love and their big events!  With today's technology, we're never too far apart!

A sweet little birthday card...

Sorry I've been so slow on posting -- I've been spending the last couple of weeks getting ready for baby Eliza's first birthday! (Not to mention Sammy starting kindergarten, Dan turning 30, plus all the other things life throws at us...) I haven't gotten the pictures of all the stuff I did Eliza's party ready for posting yet, so I thought I'd post this little birthday card in the mean time. My sweet little niece Amelia also turned one a couple of weeks ago. She lives all the way in England (sadness!), but I actually had it together enough to send her a card and present in time fore her birthday (gasp!). For someone who loves to make cards, I am really awful about getting them off in time. And there's my confession of the day.

I used an Autumn Leaves pp and ribbon set for this card, and my Cuttlebug for the embossing. Cricut cuts: I cut the number with Alphalicious and the tag with TBBM, then the little ladybug with Walk in My Garden. First time I've used that cart in a long time, but I think now that I have so much little girl stuff to do I'll be digging it out more often. The flowers on the ladybug are a punch. The pin is from Fancy Pants. This card is a great example about how sometimes you just have to go with the flow -- I originally started out with a great sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You, but this darn card would not behave itself, and the finished product bears no resemblance to the original sketch. TFL!

The fruits of a very fun weekend...

This past weekend was such a blast. About every 6 months we have a Cricut SWARM -- a crop with a bunch of my online Cricut friends from here in the area. On Friday we cropped and shopped (well, mostly shopped) together at the Scrapbook USA Expo, then on Saturday we had a crop at a local scrapbook store. So fun! And amazingly enough, I actually got a ton done this time! My goal was to get a lot of scrapping done, since I've mostly been making cards lately.

I've been planning this lo since Eliza was a month old -- these are pictures from her month-day every month, ending up with this adorable pic on her 6-month birthday. I got the pics printed in B&W because the colors were all so different. There are three tags with more 6-month photos and journaling behind the big photo. The PP is from Basic Grey, and the flowers are from MM and Heidi Swapp. I cut the 6 with Base Camp at 3 1/2", and the letter stickers are from October Afternoon.


Aw, my cute little Josh. He is so afraid of my mom's big dog, Beau. Beau just a big puppy and thinks the boys are puppies, too, so he gets a little exuberant. Joshy usually runs straight in from the car to Nana's house, but one day he mustered his courage and told Beau to "SIT!" and he actually did it! I happened to have my camera out -- lucky day! The chipboard letters are from Scenic Route and rub-ons are from American Crafts. The paw prints are from the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge and the pp is from Basic Grey. I used embroidery thread to sew on all the buttons -- thanks again to my friend Amy for reminding me to stick the buttons down with glue dots before trying to sew them on -- sure saves a lot of hassle!


This one is not my favorite, but I was glad to get a lo with so many photos done! Last November we took a little ferry trip with my in-laws and it was so fun.






These last two are for my album about Dan and me. I usually just have one photo at a time, so I do this book in 8x8. This first one is our first couple picture, taken right when we started dating so Dan could show me off to him mum. We're so young! The pp is from Chatterbox, and the little branch dies are from Sizzix. I cut "Beginnings" at 1" with the Cricut Base Camp cartridge. I used a Heidi Swapp edge distresser for the edges of the paper -- it's my favorite cheap tool!



This pic is from only a couple weeks later, from the few days in between when Dan asked me to marry him and when I said yes. In my defense, we'd only been dating a couple weeks and he really took me off guard! :) There's a big long story that goes with it, which I think you'll be able to read better if you click on the pic and get the bigger version. The pp and chipboard letters here are from Scenic Route, and the ribbon is from SU (yay, Sale-a-bration!). Letter rub-ons are from American Crafts.


Of course, I couldn't leave cards out completely!

This one is an ATC (artist trading card) for our crop. I completely spaced the swap until I got there, so that was my first project of the day. I embossed the background with the Cuttlebug, then used my SU "Pocket Silhouettes" set and scallop and ticket corner punches to put together the rest. Phew!



This one was for our "Rummage Challenge," which I was in charge of. Each participant, before leaving home, was supposed to go to THAT PLACE in their scrapbooking area where supplies just pile up and get forgotten -- you all know what place I'm talking about! -- close their eyes, and rummage around. The thing they brought out was their main supply for the challenge, then I also rummaged in several of my areas and brought more supplies they could incorporate. It was cool to see how creative people could be! One of my rummaged supplies was a Mary Engelbreit desk calendar from 2002 -- I've kept it all these years because the illustrations were so wonderul and I knew I wanted to make cards from them someday. I picked this sweet quote and used scraps from my "Beginnings" layout to create this card. The label and scallop border punches are from SU.


I was half packed to go home when I decided I really wanted to finish just one more project, so I made up a few of these cute, quick cards. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug, then I cut the scalloped oval with the Cricut Storybook cartridge. "Happy" is cut from Base Camp at 1". To make 5 quick cards, I loaded 5 scraps of bright adhesive paper on my mat and cut the word "happy" on each one. Then I just took one letter from each for each card. I outlined each oval and wrote "birthday" with a black marker. Easy peasy, and so festive!


Phew, you made it to the end! I had a blast this weekend, and it was wonderful to have so much to show for it. My kids thought the scrapbook pages were great -- they just love seeing themselves on layouts. Can't wait til our next SWARM!

These little piggies!

It's been quite a while since I got some 12x12 pages done -- I've been mostly doing cards and mini-albums lately. But I just had to scrap these adorable pics of Eliza with her first pigtails! Isn't she just the cutest thing? It is so stinkin' fun to finally have a girl to play with and to scrap for!

This layout is yet another tribute to stash scrapping. I've had all these supplies for months or even years! I couldn't find background paper in my stash that worked for the feel I wanted, so I found a round foam stamp and painted the polka dots on myself. It turned out just as cute as I'd hoped! I drew the wonky scalloped square myself as well on an ooooooooolllllddddd piece of patterned paper I thought I'd probably never use. But it was perfect for this page! I painted the chipboard shapes and sprinkled them with transparent glitter. TFL

Supplies:
Felt and chipboard shapes: Fancy Pants
Patterned paper: Paper Pizazz
Cardstock: DCWV
Title letters: Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet
Pig: Cricut My Community Cartridge, cut at 3"

Kazan's sketch #11

My dear aunt and bestest bud Glynis is having a baby in December, and this great sketch from Kazan at 2 Sketches 4 You was the perfect jumping off point for this invitation to her shower! I love how this turned out -- the photo really doesn't do the sweet colors justice. Anyhoo, they've called this baby "Peanut" ever since they found out they were pregnant, so a little elephant seemed like the perfect touch. I'm in charge of the decorations and invitations, so I'm planning to coordinate everything with this scheme. I adore this baby boy paper collection from Cosmo Cricket. The elephant is from the Cricut Zooballoo cartridge, cut at 1 3/4", and I cut the circles with George at 2" and 1". The striped shape I designed on my computer and cut with SCAL. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. To create the notebook edge, I used my Cropadile to punch the holes, then snipped them with scissors.

Be sure to check out Kazan's sketch this week!

Sweet Eliza

You can see a larger version by clicking any of the images...




So my mom took my boys for a sleepover today and I thought Eliza's naptime would be the perfect time to clean the bathrooms... but instead I came into my office and finished this layout. Oops! Oh, well -- preserving our family history is more important than clean toilets, right?!

My big accomplishment with this particular project was figuring out how to add some "inking" to the edges of the photos and elements. I've struggled a little with digi-scrapping because it just didn't have the soft look I love with paper scrapping, which I usually add by doing things like inking the edges. This added a few steps, but I really loved the outcome. I bought this totally adorable digi-kit from the Shabby Princess shop. It's called Gabby, and I love it so much I think I may use it to redesign my blog. I LOVE their digi-kits -- they all have so many amazing elements. I also used this kit to create a little birth announcement for Eliza...



And while I'm on the subject of digi-scrapping, here's a layout I finished yesterday of this year's family reunion. This is another one for the album that I've given to my parents and all my siblings. We always have such a great time together -- I'm glad I can give everyone these layouts to remind them! :) This is another great Shabby Princess kit, called "Wonder."






Both of these layouts use Becky Higgins sketches. Love 'em!

I love hand stitching!

It does take a long time, but for a very special card there is nothing I love more than hand stitching. This baby card is for my brother and SIL who just had their first baby (yay, I have a niece!), and I really love the handstitching on the buttons. For this card I used this week's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You -- it was just perfect for this stamp! A friend gave it to me unmounted, so I have no idea what company it came from, but I think it's just adorable.


For the birthday card I used a Bazzill In Stitchz template and added the french knots for a little extra pizzazz. This is actually last week's sketch from 2 Sketches, but I didn't finish it in time to upload it there.

Supplies used
(Baby Card) Velvet ribbon -- Fancy Pants
Buttons -- All My Memories
Glitter -- Stickles Cotton Candy
Jewels -- Westrim Crafts
Scalloped square -- Cricut Mini-Monograms cartridge, cut at 1 1/2" on RDS
Embossing -- Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder
Other - chalk ink, cotton thread, foam squares, mystery stamp

(Birthday card) Patterned Paper -- Scrapworks
Flowers -- Making Memories
Stitching Template -- Bazzill In Stitchz
Stamp -- Imaginisce
Jewel brad -- Joann Craft Essentials

A Little One is on the way! -- LO for BBTB

I love the New Arrival cartridge for the Cricut machine -- it's a must-have if you have any baby things to do at all. Our challenge over at Bitten By the Bug this week was to use the train cut. This layout isn't my favorite -- one of those things that just didn't turn out on paper the way it looked in your head -- but you should definitely check out all the other creations this week. The projects are just too cute, and a lot of them show how versatile this cart really is!

All the cuts here are from New Arrival. I sized the train in CDS, and I cut all the other little shapes at around 2". "Little One" is cut at 1 1/2". I use Making Memories paper, a Jolees flower on the baby, and some ric-rac. I sewed the mat for the picture to make a journaling pocket. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this lo -- I may use it for a picture from the baby shower my family is doing for me, or I may save it as a gift for someone else.

My new Magnolia fetish...

I have long been in love with these Magnolia stamps, but could never find them in the US until now. I've only got a couple so far, but you can bet I'll be adding to my collection. They remind me so much of my sister Carissa -- how could I resist? I'm new at this coloring technique (Prismas and Gamsol) but I can tell I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. I've always loved coloring!

This one is for my sister's birthday. I got the sketch from the Magnolia Challenge Blog. This is the one I colored most to look like Carissa. She loved wearing flowers in her hair, and I think it will mean a lot to my sister. The PP is from the My Mind's Eye Magnolia Collection (coincidentally!), the flowers are a sizzix die, and the sentiment stamp is from Stampin Up.



Today was my Grandma's birthday, and tomorrow she is having surgery, so I thought a whole basketful of good wishes might be in order! This pp is from Wild Asparagus, with Cuttlebug embossing. I've also used my favorite new tool, the edge distresser from Heidi Swapp, on the sentiment border. You'll see more of that in the next couple of cards!



This one is for some dear friends in Denmark. "Med kærlig hilsen" basically means "hello with love." This one also uses Wild Asparagus paper. The scalloped oval tag is from the Cricut Alphalicious cartridge, cut at 5". I love how the edge distresser makes the edges of the paper curl up -- with this nice cardstock it looks like fabric!



This last one is for friends of Valerie Hoyle on the Cricut Messageboard, who recently had a baby with some severe problems who won't be with them long (see her post and card request here). This one uses the same Wild Asparagus paper as my grandma's card (just the front instead of the back), and the scalloped edge was created with the Fiskars Threading Water punch. I was really digging the decorative stitching today, can you tell?!


Thanks for looking -- it's so fun to have a place to share my creations!

2 Sketches 4 You this week!

Another lovely sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You! I am in the midst of working on a mini-album using these adorable papers from Cosmo Cricket, so I decided to use a few of the scraps to make a baby card. (Can you tell I'm having fun getting ready for a baby girl?!) This uses a tag from Tags, Bags, Boxes, & Stores and the word "love" from Opposites Attract, and ribbon and flowers from Fancy Pants and Prima. I also used the Fiskars Threading Water punch for the borders. Here's the sketch of the week!

I'm such a sucker...

... for cheap stamps! I love all the dollar acrylic stamps at just about every scrapbook store these days, and I am adding them to my collection faster than I can use them! So I decided to make a bunch of cards with some of my newer acquisitions (that way I can justify buying more, right?!).

These two cards use "Snag 'Em" stamps from Imaginisce. I went to Archiver's looking for one (the cute little penguin chick, but I haven't used her yet) and came home with about 5 sets -- oops!



A couple of weeks ago I got to go to the Fancy Pants warehouse sale and was able to get the Bella Brush and Pollen Dust stamp sets for $10 each. $10! Since these are usually $40, I just couldn't pass them up, even though I already have about a bazillion sets of flower and flourish stamps. The blue card uses stamps from Bella Brush, and the pink is from Pollen Dust. The "Happy Birthday" on the pink card is a Studio G $1 stamp from Michaels. The blue card also has velvet ribbon from Fancy Pants.




I went a little amuck with the embossing on these cards. That is definitely still a technique I'm working on!

My birdie obsession continues...

Okay, I think my love for little birdies may be going overboard! Just about every card I've made lately has some little birdie element. They're just so dad-gum cute, don't you think? So much fun!

This one used scraps from my "Lucky" layout from last week. This cute birdie is from the Cricut Joys of the Season cartridge -- it's a Christmas cartridge, but I think it's extremely versatile -- cut at 2". I used it for my Mother's Day cards, as well. The flourish the birdie is sitting on is also from JOTS, cut at 2" on shadow. "Thank You" is cut with Alphalicious, I think also at 2".



This simple card is a favorite layout of mine -- it comes together so quickly; it's great when you need to make a big batch of cards. The color scheme here was inspired by some lotion packaging I saw at Old Navy. I'm not sure how I feel about the black inking on the embossing, but I do love this little birdie embossing folder for the Cuttlebug. The stamp and scallop circle are from Stampin Up.



Here's another one with the same embossing folder, but the photo so does not do it justice because it really doesn't pick up the embossing on the white cardstock, but the card is so pretty and delicate. This one uses another stamp from the same SU set, and the scallop circle punch. I also used the Fiskars Threading Water Punch for the scallops on the bottom -- I love it!



I picked up this adorable Imaginisce penguin stamp for less than a dollar and decided he would be perfect for making some fun, fresh Father's Day cards for my grandpas this year. (I usually end up doing something "masculine" with lots of blues and browns, but my grandpas are all pretty fun guys and I think they'll enjoy this even more!) I used watercolor pencils for the green and orange, and blue craft glitter for the popsicle and swirls.



This one is for my aunt and cousin who are traveling to England even as I type. This little birdie is a Quickutz die that followed me home from the craft store on Friday. "bon voyage" is from the Cricut Beyond Birthdays cartridge, and the journaling block is something I designed myself and cut with SCAL. I love this shape, which is so popular right now, but I didn't have one on any of my cartridges and I couldn't find one as a dingbat. I LOVE that SCAL gives me the flexibility to do it myself! Recognize the paper? It's scraps from the penguin father's day cards! Just goes to show how versatile a couple of pieces of paper can be!

Board book baby-album & coordinating card

This project combined two of my favorite things -- board book mini-albums and coordinating papers! Both make it so much easier to make beautiful gifts. I was able to make this whole project and card from the book, three sheets of patterned paper, and one sheet of brown cardstock, with enough leftovers at least a couple more cards. Since I got all of this on sale at one point or another, the total cost of materials was very low. I love this Crate paper for a baby girl. I used the Cricut Stamped cartridge for "Zoe" and the heart, and Jasmine for the photo corners inside. The stamps are from Stampin' Up.

And here is the card that goes with it!



Thanks for looking!

How can this be?

I spent forever last night digging through my library-of-congress size stash of paper and I realized I have next to NO baby girl paper! That is just dreadful, don't you think? I mean, sure, I have no girls to scrap for, and all my friends and relations have only boys as well. (Seriously, all the babies in the generation down from me have been boys!) And sure, I have a ton of pretty, flowery paper I could probably use for a baby girl project. Bu it just wasn't what I wanted for this project. I finally found one piece I liked, but it's not super baby-ish. This is an altered comp book (one of my fave projects!) for my dear friend Toby's baby shower tomorrow. We're all SO excited that somebody is finally having a girl!

By the way, I think I know what I'll be keeping an eye out for at the Scrapbook Expo next month -- baby girl paper! (Along with about 1000 other things... this is me, counting down the days and saving up my pennies!)

4 Different Baby Shower Invites

Well, my SIL Ann knew how happy she was making me when she asked for help making invites for her sister's baby shower. Here are three different ideas I came up with for her to choose from. You might notice that the invite with the little dress is the same sketch as my pig card from last week!

Card #1: The crawling baby, "baby shower" and the card itself are from New Arrival, and that little bit of patterned paper is from Basic Grey.

Card #2: The dress is from New Arrival and the scalloped circle is from Mini Monograms. "You're invited" is a magnetic stamp from Making Memories. The paper is also from MM. The little flower is a punch.

Card #3: Plaid paper is from Keeping Memories Alive, I believe. Another scallop circle from Mini-monos and a mommy cut on black-out mode from NA, along with photo corners from Jasmine, complete this card. On this one I'd print the shower info right in that space.

And as long as I'm at it, I'll include the shower invite I made for my other SIL (Sarah) last week. This mommy is very time and material-consuming but she sure is cute!